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President Obama didn’t win the U.S. election so much as the Republicans lost it, but they didn’t lose the election last Tuesday. They lost it a long time ago in a land far, far away.

I don’t mean Afghanistan or Iraq, though America is war weary. They lost it months and even years ago in exotic places like Des Moines, Toledo and Miami. They lost it when they chose a candidate like Mitt Romney, a man so removed from the average American experience he might have stepped out of a magical wardrobe from Narnia. Now, I happen to believe that Romney would have been a good president, someone who could have herded the Republican and Democratic cats in Congress as well as anyone. He’s a competent, decent man, but he’s also a man who grew up in a wealthy family and then unfortunately went out and made his own uber-fortune on top of it.

Trust me, I’m all for being rich. That’s why I invest every week in lottery tickets. But when you’re not conscious of your own wealth and how it separates you, it can make it hard to connect with regular people.

For instance, in the middle of a debate, Romney tried to bet fellow Republican contender Rick Perry

$10,000 that Perry was wrong about a position Romney had taken on health care when he was governor of Massachusetts. I have no idea whether Romney or Perry was right about the issue. All I know is that Romney, with his central-casting good looks, bet $10,000 like most of us would bet $10. It never even dawned on him that $10,000 would be a minor fortune to a big chunk of the blue-collar America that he wanted to win over.

That moment was a metaphor for the disconnect between the old country club Republican electoral machine and the realities of the American people.

Romney would later go on to trumpet his support of the U.S. auto industry by mentioning that his wife actually drove two different Cadillacs, though hopefully not at the same time. The point, however, is that the United States is on its back economically and even if voters didn’t just outright resent Romney’s wealth, they might question whether he could understand the struggles of regular people.

Then, of course, there is the changing face of America. Whereas in Canada my former Conservative colleagues have made deep inroads into various ethnic communities, the Republicans are getting worse at outreach.

For the third presidential election in a row, Republican support among Hispanic voters has dropped. It takes a peculiar kind of genius for Republicans to be able to so thoroughly alienate a group that is so naturally conservative.

A generation ago it took Ronald Reagan and his uncanny ability to relate to regular people to finally establish a deep connection between the Republican Party and grassroots America. For 20 years after, so-called Reagan Democrats continued to support Republican candidates.

The good news for Republicans is that the Reagan path back to the people is still there — overgrown, to be sure, but waiting for a leader who understands real America.